Drug use in the military

THE issue of soldiers driving under the influence of alcohol is not just a matter of how they get home after getting drunk. If they had not been drunk in the first place, there would not be a problem.

The distance is not relevant - people who live close to the "watering hole" use that fact as an excuse too.

As to the logistics of getting home after having too much to drink - taxis are available to everybody.

The better solution is to provide alcohol, tobacco and in a few cases, illegal drug rehabilitation. In order to facilitate the rehabilitation of servicemen and women with drug habits,it would be necessary to have all the treatment provided in the same place and in a way that would not appear on personnel records. This would no doubt have numerous benefits both to the military as well as the servicemen and women concerned.

Ken Glasgow
Karama

Newshawk: http://www.napnt.org
Pubdate: Mon, 19 September 2005
Source: Northern Territory News (Australia)
Author: Ken Glasgow (letter to the editor)
Copyright: 2005 Northern Territory News
Contact: ntnmail@ntn.newsltd.com.au
Website: http://ntnews.news.com.au/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/283